When you are given access to a company’s resources, that is a specific kind of trust. Violate that trust and you can be sure that a business is going to come at you with everything that they have. Penalties for a corporate espionage conviction can be quite harsh, so you want to make sure that you are defending yourself with everything that you have. That means talking to a Bergen County criminal defense attorney from our law firm and learning more about how we can be of assistance.
There are state and federal laws that concern corporate espionage including the Trade Secrets Act and the Economic Espionage Act. The Trade Secrets Act is a state law and, as it implies, it is designed to punish those who give away a company’s trade secrets. These can be patterns, formulas, devices, or techniques that would have economic value.
The Economic Espionage Act is a law at the federal level. So if you find yourself in trouble for corporate espionage, you could be facing federal charges.
It is a possibility, especially if you have federal charges against you. There could also be significant fines to pay.
Most of the time, the people who end up with a long prison stay have taken information from a sensitive industry and sold it to a country or entity that is not considered an ally of the United States or its government.
It is possible that you will not need to go to trial for corporate espionage. This is because many companies are embarrassed when someone gets past their defenses. They do not want to throw out a big flare that says “Our security protocols failed.” This can hurt the company’s reputation or, perhaps more importantly, its share price.
There will usually be some kind of negotiation outside of a courtroom, so there will be fewer records for the public to sort through. Your punishments could be decided on without the need to appear in front of a judge or jury at all.
Because the crime of corporate espionage can be punished so severely, it really is a smart idea to hire a lawyer of your own. Your lawyer can poke holes in the state’s case against you or help you negotiate for a lesser sentence if it looks like things will not go your way. These things are true whether you go to court or if the company accusing you of wrongdoing prefers to settle things in another way.
You could be facing harsh punishments for corporate espionage, so take the steps needed to protect yourself. Contact the Law Office of Attorney Conway and set up a consultation today. Our defense attorneys are ready to assist you. We will help you form the best possible defense and we will do our best to help you avoid the most severe penalties associated with this crime.
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